Refrigerators often include automatic ice makers for making ice and depositing the ice in an ice container. When making ice with an automatic ice maker there is a need to determine and detect the level of the ice in the ice container to stop the production of ice so as to avoid overflow of the ice container. If the refrigerator is configured to have the ice container on the door such as in side-by-side configurations, there is a need to stop the ice production when the door is open as to not have ice falling to the floor instead of into the ice container.
Currently ice detection devices have been both mechanical arms attached directly to the icemaker itself or as in the case of an automatic icemaker with the ice container on the door, an infrared emitter and receiver remotely attached to the freezer compartment. Although the infrared system is a very effective way of ice level detection, it is also a costly system. Therefore, what is needed is a refrigerator with an improved ice level detection.